The Roaring 20s
Prohibition: Crimes
Getting Around the Law
People in the 1920s during Prohibition would always find a way to get around the law. The women would wear Hip Flasks under their skirts and some people would wrap hoses around their bodies under their clothes. People from the 1920s had some sneaky ways to have alcohol. They would also hide alcohol in hollow false books, hollow canes and coconut shells. They had many ways to get around the law.
Drinks you could legally have during Prohibition
- Old Booze: Prohibition didn't prevent possession (nine tenths of the law) so if it was bought before the ban, it was all yours.
- Hard Cider: You where able to turn your apples into cider and you could let it ferment.
- Sacramental Wine: Catholic Churches used wine for sacred purposes and where exempt from Prohibition. Many people joined the Catholic Church after the ban.
- Sterno: This is ethanol, rough industrial alcohol, poisonously doctored and jellied to keep it burning longer. Then its filtered to separate out the alcohol and people can drink a little bit of it really quickly for a quick buzz. It could seriously harm your body and blind you or worse.
- Doctor's Orders: As long as you got alcohol from your doctor it was legal. Alcohol was used as a painkiller and a mild sedative.
Al Capone
Al Capone was one of the best known gangsters during the 1920s. He was a leading role in the illegal activities that gave Chicago a horrible reputation. He had a multimillion dollar operation in Chicago for bootlegging, prostitution and gambling. He was responsible for many horrible crimes. Many of them brutal and against other gangsters. The worst one of these was the St. Valentines Day massacre.
Valentines Massacure
February 14, 1929 seven men that where associated with an Irish gangster named George "Bugs" Moran got shot and killed by many men dressed as police officers. Al Capone was never officially linked to this but Al Capone and George "Bugs" Moran where long time enemies. No one was ever brought to trial for the murders.